SeaFish x ACI

SeaFish – Testimonial from Marcus Coleman

What were your aims when renovating your office space?

Our office space in Grimsby had become very tired and uninspiring. We had occupied that space for more than 10 years and while furniture and fittings were functional, the meeting spaces, communal areas and general collaborative spaces were no longer fit for purpose. The Covid pandemic had also changed working patterns such that the traditional office function had become redundant. We realised that we needed a more dynamic, drop in, meet up, catch up, space where our staff could meet with colleagues or our industry partners, where they could work on personal projects in peace and quiet if needed or could explore and develop plans and ideas in a more creative setting. We identified an alternative smaller office footprint within the same building and decided that a shift to an entirely blank canvas would be the best way to re-energise our operations in Grimsby.

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What made you choose Absolute? Before the pandemic, we had selected Absolute to work with us on a previous office relocation. That project had been cancelled due to the pandemic but we had developed a good working rapport with the team at Absolute. We liked the way they had taken time to work with our staff on their requirements and aspirations and we liked their colourful and insightful design thinking and use of sustainable and responsibly sourced materials. We also welcomed their ‘open book’ approach to the financial and contractual aspects. We felt that this would help us keep a tight control on costs and give us every opportunity to influence design choices as we developed the project.

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What was the highlight of your experience with us?

As a small organisation we do not have any in house facilities management capability and so were delighted that Absolute could provide a ‘turnkey’, fully managed project for us with minimal management overhead for us. This aspect has been fantastic. We had a dedicated project manager who would arrange all the works, discuss all designs and require changes with me directly. Any issues were presented in a very open and transparent way with costed options set out for easy decision making on our part. All the contractors that attended on site worked efficiently and effectively around our staff especially towards the latter stages of the project on finishes and additional fixtures that we requested. There were challenges with existing building infrastructure and liaison with the landlord but these were all tackled by Absolute who either secured the information required or found ways to navigate around potential issues. It was really valuable to have Absolute do that on our behalf.

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Are you pleased with the outcome?

We are delighted. Our staff are thrilled with their new ‘hub’ – they are no longer embarrassed about inviting stakeholders into our meeting spaces. The mix of meeting areas, break out and desk spaces works really well with clever use of soft partitioning to separate the different zones. The technology deployed in meeting rooms and on desks is all very intuitive and easy to use. From a management perspective, the project came in within our budget envelop with no surprises but more importantly the managed process enabled us to get on with the day job while the fit-out works were undertaken. It remains to be seen in a ‘post-covid’ world how working patterns will settle down but we feel that this facility that Absolute have created for us puts us in a great position going forward.